Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by
Tahereh Mafi
Publication Date: November 15, 2011
Publisher:
HarperCollins
Source: Book Purchased by Reviewer
Buy it at:
Amazon,
Barnes and Noble,
IndieBound
My rating:
5 out of 5 stars
Summary (from Goodreads):
Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to come by, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.
The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war - and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.
Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.
This book started off a little rocky for me. I had a little
bit of trouble getting past Tahereh Mafi’s style of writing. Once I adjusted
though, this book was amazing. I mean
it really just rocked my world with how awesome
it is. There are so many factors that make this book great and the biggest one,
which was what I hated in the beginning,
is the strike through writing. I feel like it makes Juliette such a raw
character, getting to know her in the most honest way possible: knowing every
single thought she has.
And I definitely think that is the first noticeable thing
about the book. the writing style is so different from any other book out there
that it kind of draws you in, even if you're a little unaccepting in the beginning,
like I was.
The main character Juliette, is such a great character to
flow with. Seeing how she changes from beginning to end is so great to watch. From
being skiddish and scared to finally embracing herself and her gifts… It’s definitely
an empowering experience. I do have to admit though, she seems a bit off at first. You can tell right away
that she’s had a lot of bad things happen to her and she hasn't been treated
very well in her life at all, but her thoughts kind of lead me to believe that
some serious therapy is needed to really get her over and moved on with every
obstacle that she has encountered in her life. I have to give it to her though.
She has made so much progress in such a short time and I think we owe a lot of
that to Adam…and Warner.
No matter what horrible things we say about Warner (and we know they’re all TRUE) he was the spark
that started the fire. Without his particular interest in Juliette, she never
would have gotten out of that cell and into a glimpse of the real world. His
interest in her gave Juliette her life back. She resisted every proposal he
offered, but being back in the real world, being wanted, gave her the spark she needed. That being said, he is still
the antagonist in this story and no matter what anyone says I believe there
will never be anything good about him. He has way too much charm and influence
for his own good!
And Adam…OHMAGAW can you say swooooon … I mean I'm literally gushing here…HE.IS.EVERYTHING! The
fact that he did, technically, lie to Juliette when he first met her means absolutely
NOTHING to me…Every decision he made was for her. I LOVE him and adore that he loves her so much. He even risked
his life to be with her and protect her…gotta love a guy like that right!?
So, let’s just say that I'm thrilled that I read this book
so late, because now I don’t have to wait a year for the next book in the
series, Unravel Me. Can you say SQUEEEEEEE?!?!??!
